Drabble Babble
by AbsentAngel
Summary: A place for my Fairy Tail one shots/drabbles of less than 1k words (expect mostly NaLu). Always complete. Chapter #3: With her, he is greedy.
1. Strawberry Street

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><p><strong>(:)(A)(:)<strong>

**Drabble Babble**

**Chapter #1: Strawberry Street**

**(:)(A)(:)**

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><p>Those that resided on Strawberry Street did so with an infinite amount of patience for one particular resident. Or, rather, the company that said resident kept. Lucy Heartfilia was a nice girl, she was always good about greeting her fellow neighbors with a smile and a polite inquiry on how they were. Certainly they were happy to have her – even if it did take them by surprise the first few times they caught sight of a pink haired man and his flying blue cat breaking into her apartment through her second story window. But this <em>was<em> Magnolia – home to Fairy Tail – and the city's residents had seen much stranger (and much more destructive) things.

For the first six months or so, it was not uncommon to hear the blonde shouting at the top of her lungs "get out". Moments later and the neighbors often found the same pink haired mage crawling _out_ of the same window he had broken in through. After a while though the early morning screams became less frequent. Sightings of a dragon slayer and his flying cat breaking into the little apartment remained a common occurrence (most of the neighbors now greeted him the same way they did the busty blonde – with familiarity). They rarely saw him sneaking out anymore.

And so Strawberry Street became peaceful once more.

Until two weeks ago.

Unlike before, the noises emitting from the little apartment no longer seemed to be contained to a particular time slot. Morning, afternoon, evening, night – there were apparently no limitations. It was quite clear that their neighbor and the dragon slayer had advanced to the next stage in their relationship (the volume in which she regularly screamed his name left little doubt to any who had any sort of hearing). The morning after the first incident they had all given each other little grins and gossiped happily about the things they overheard after the majority of the lights had turned out the night before. When the couple emerged hand in hand, the people of Strawberry Street welcomed them with knowing little smiles and congratulatory greetings that made the celestial mage blush and the dragon slayer beam.

They were happy for her, thrilled even, but patience is a fickle thing. As much as they adored their neighbor, enough was enough.

When they approached her about it (kindly, because it wasn't their intention to mortify the poor girl) she had blushed to the roots of her hair and apologized profusely with the promise of working to remedy the situation.

That evening, just before Ms. Lily Harris closed up her flower shop, the elderly woman heard the annoyed screeching from the second story apartment across the street. Not a moment later, the pink haired dragon slayer (that she had grown so accustomed to seeing) emerged from the window with one Lucy Heartfilia slung over his broad shoulder. Gaping curiously, Ms. Harris watched as the blonde struggled and brought her small fists down onto his back with little success. Expletive threats were made as he jumped down into the street, but the exuberant man seemed unconcerned by any of it. When his dark gaze caught onto the little flower shop owner's he gave her a bright grin and an exaggerated wave.

"Don't worry Ms. Harris! I'm taking Lucy to my place since she's so lou- ow!" He looked over his shoulder, pouting. "What was that for?!"

The celestial mage hid her face in her hands, but the older woman could still make out the cherry red complexion peeking between her fingers. "Just _go_," she moaned miserably.

He smirked. "Geeze Luce, make up your mind!"

"Natsu," she whined, obviously not having the patience for his teasing.

"Ok, ok!" He gave Ms. Harris another dazzling smile and a mock salute. "Nice talking to you! Have a nice night!"

She gave him a little wave, a sly smile pulling at her lips. "You as well."

He gave her a boyish laugh before running off with his partner (in more than one sense of the word) laying limply over his shoulder.

From that day, things became a bit quieter on Strawberry Street, though the sightings of a certain dragon slayer carrying the celestial mage from her second story window became a regular occurrence. Parents told their children that he was a dragon rescuing his princess from the tower and would cheer him on whenever they saw him.

Natsu always responded with a grin, and his princess with a blush.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> Decided to make a designated place for all my less than 1k drabbles. :)

Inspired by NaLu Love Fest and one of ishould-stab-u's reviews!


	2. In My Hands

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><p><strong>(:)(A)(:)<strong>

**Drabble Babble**

**Chapter #2: In My Hands**

**(:)(A)(:)**

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><p>He can't get over how tiny she is.<p>

It's terrifying, really, how his hands dwarf her little form. With the yellow baby blanket swaddling her she looks even smaller - more fragile. He can see the tiniest blue veins peeking through her fragile skin. Skin that is now pleasantly pink instead of the terrifying blotchy red it was hours before (it had taken two nurses to assure him that it was perfectly normal and that their baby was perfect). She is a healthy seven pounds six ounces, but when he holds her she feels lighter.

She feels too light, too fragile, too _precious_ to trust in his battle worn hands. The first time he held her, moments after her birth when her limbs were wailing and her tiny lungs were busy voicing her displeasure, he was terrified that he'd hold her too tight or (worse) he wouldn't hold her tight enough and she'd tumble from his grasp. Lucy, with sweat still soaking her bangs and tears still trailing down her cheeks, had smiled up at him reassuringly as the nurses directed him in how to support their child's head. It was a smile full of so much love and affection that he felt tears cling stubbornly to the corners of his eyes because holy shit, he was a _father_.

With this realization comes both excitement and a bone chilling fear. He doesn't know how to raise a child, doesn't know how to be the father that his daughter needs. All he knows is that he already loves her more than anything. He wants to make all the right decisions, wants to be the role model she deserves. He wishes he had Igneel to guide him, to walk him through how to be a parent, but he doesn't. He can only do his best.

His thumb gently brushes against his daughter's delicate cheek. "I'll make you proud," he promises under his breath. He's not sure if he's talking to his child or the memory of his father – maybe both – but the moment the words pass his lips he knows that he will do everything he can to make it true.

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: Have a super short drabble!


	3. The Beast Inside

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_I wanna hide the truth_

_I wanna shelter you_

_But with the beast inside_

_There's nowhere we can hide_

_No matter what we breed_

_We still are made of greed_

_This is my kingdom come_

_This is my kingdom come_

_-Imagine Dragons, "Demons"_

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><p><strong>(:)(A)(:)<strong>

**Drabble Babble**

**Chapter #3: The Beast Inside**

**(:)(A)(:)**

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><p>With her, he is greedy.<p>

This is not a new development, but it is one that has recently escalated beyond his control. He wants her all to himself. When her attention strays from him he feels jealousy curl in his chest and the burning urge to do something ridiculous just so he can have her eyes all to himself. He wants to be the one she seeks out, wants to be the one she confides in. He wants to be the only one to hold her, to touch her. He wants her in every way possible.

The dragon in him – the beast in him – demands that he steal her away and hoard her to himself, because she is a treasure. There are diamonds in her eyes that reflect like stars and gold in her hair when it's touched by the sunlight, but it is more than that. She is the moon in his night sky, and as long as he has her then he has enough light to see by. When she is gone, when she isn't by his side, he feels like he is fumbling in the dark.

He wants her with an intensity that frightens him. It is not enough to just be her friend anymore. The beast beneath his breast howls and clamors, it demands that he entangle their souls so tightly that she can never hope to escape. He wants to possess her every thought, make her feel lost without his touch. He wants to have every little thing that is Lucy Heartfilia until he is the burning sun in her sky and she cannot live without him.

And it's _wrong_.

He knows this. Feels it in his heart even as the beast beneath roars and claws at his rib cage. She is not his – she is not _anyone's_ – and she never will be. Lucy belongs to Lucy. She is her own woman, her own person, and no one will ever take that away from her. Not any of her future boyfriends, not the husband she is bound to eventually choose, not even him.

He can't let her find out. He's terrified that if he slips and she sees the beast pacing behind his sharpened gaze she will never be able to trust him again. He doesn't even know if she should. Right now, as jealous heat boils under his flesh because she is talking (_flirting_ the beast snarls) with the blue eyed bookstore clerk, he thinks that she should be terrified of him. He turns away, forcing himself to look elsewhere before the sight of another man smiling down at her drives him insane. He can't help how he feels, but he can choose how he acts. Acting like a possessive asshole is not an option, not with Lucy. She means too much, is too important.

He feels the lightest of touches on his forearm and withholds a shudder. Lucy is looking up at him, her brow drawn in concern. "Are you alright?"

He can't answer her question, not without lying, so he takes her hand in his and holds it firmly. Her touch calms the beast, makes him purr in satisfaction. It curls around his heart and whispers in his ear, _'If you don't let go then she can't leave.'_ Natsu gives her the same bright grin he's been hiding behind for months now. "Let's go, I'm starving! You were taking forever!"

She looks at him, and for a moment he's afraid that she can see right through him. Then she nods, a small smile mirroring his own. "Yeah, ok." She gives his hand a gentle squeeze, but doesn't let it go. It is such a simple thing, something he shouldn't let effect him, but it ignites the tiniest spark of hope all the if she could need him as much as he needs her then maybe the beast would calm and the howling would stop.

Maybe then he'd be convinced that she wouldn't end up leaving him like everyone else.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Inspired by a prompt I received on tumblr from margaret-longbottom who requested a piece based off of the song "Demons" by Imagine Dragons.


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